Tom HoeflingThe “lesser of two evils” philosophy is by definition godless Utilitarianism. That philosophy excludes faith, the belief that if we will simply align ourselves with right, and do right, God will, in His good time, step in on our behalf. It destroys the foundations of American independence, liberty, and self-government. George Washington, and the rest of the founders, made constant reference to divine Providence, crediting that Providential Power as the Source for all their successes. Unless we are willing to return to their attitude, and emulate their moral, courageous actions, there truly is no hope for the republic they fought so hard to establish. “If, to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.” - George Washington “We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” — Closing lines of the Declaration of Independence

On Friday night in Cedar Rapids the designated stand-in for my opponent, former State Representative Jeff Kaufmann, boasted about how every "pro-life" law on the books in our state was signed by Terry Branstad.

Here's the gigantic problem with that brag: In order to write a truly pro-life bill, one that actually fulfills the explicit, absolute requirements of the Iowa and the U.S. Constitutions, that all persons be protected equally in their God-given, unalienable right to live, you have to erase Terry Branstad's entire "pro-life" legacy from the Iowa Code.

I know. I helped craft Tom Shaw's House File 138, which meets the moral and constitutional test of a true pro-life bill. In addition to rightly identifying the unborn child as a person, its language scrubbed all the unconstitutional Branstad code sections that in effect end with "and then you can kill the baby."

Of course, the Branstad Republican establishment has consistently insisted on burying HF-138 in committee, and pushing even more unconstitutional "pro-life" legislation, so that they can then go out once again and pretend to their pro-life constituency that they are doing something to stop this American holocaust.

Wake up, people. Quit buying the lie. Read your own constitutions, and start demanding that those who represent you fulfill the primary purpose and duty of their offices, which is the defense of the supreme right of every single individual human being.

"Rights of persons. Section 1. All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights - among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness."

-- Iowa Constitution - ARTICLE I. - Bill of Rights

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men..."

-- The Declaration of Independence

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

-- The Preamble, or Statement of Purpose, of the United States Constitution

"No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law."

-- The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

"No State shall deprive any person of life without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

-- The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

"The appellee and certain amici argue that the fetus is a 'person' within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment."

-- Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Roe vs. Wade, 1973

"You shall not murder."

-- Exodus 20:13

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever."

It's time for people to grow up, and put aside as trivial any remaining racial, ethnic, or class differences. All this divide-and-conquer, crypto-racist, political hack-talk about "demographics"? Ignore it. We're all Americans. We're one nation, under God. (As per Galatians 3:28.)

Foreswear reliance on the money and media interests. We know from decades of experience that they are anathema to government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Instead, BE THE MEDIA, and consistently focus public attention on the self-evident truths of the nation's founding, in whatever forums you can:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." (The Declaration of Independence)

Now there's something that matters. So much so, that it is not hyperbole to say that the fate of the American republic hinges on our return to the principles espoused in that one paragraph.

Hear the words of Abraham Lincoln:

"Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines conflicting with the great landmarks of the Declaration of Independence; if you have listened to suggestions which would take away from its grandeur and mutilate the fair symmetry of its proportions; if you have been inclined to believe that all men are not created equal in those inalienable rights enumerated by our chart of liberty, let me entreat you to come back. Return to the fountain whose waters spring close by the blood of the Revolution. Think nothing of me — take no thought for the political fate of any man whomsoever — but come back to the truths that are in the Declaration of Independence. You may do anything with me you choose, if you will but heed these sacred principles. You may not only defeat me for the Senate, but you may take me and put me to death. While pretending no indifference to earthly honors, I do claim to be actuated in this contest by something higher than an anxiety for office. I charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought for any man's success. It is nothing; I am nothing; Judge Douglas is nothing. But do not destroy that immortal emblem of Humanity — the Declaration of American Independence."

And Frederick Douglass:

"[T]he Declaration of Independence is the RINGBOLT to the chain of your nation's destiny...The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in. all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost. From the round top of your ship of state, dark and threatening clouds may be seen. Heavy billows, like mountains in the distance, disclose to the leeward huge forms of flinty rocks! That bolt drawn, that chain, broken, and all is lost. Cling...to its principles, with the grasp of a storm-tossed mariner to a spar at midnight. "

Please, from now on, make this the plumb line of your political thought and action, without compromise.

Then join yourself to other patriots who have made the same resolve.

It's the only way back. It's the only way that we will fulfill the ultimate stated purpose of our Constitution:

"To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

To put it in the simplest terms: Do it for yourself, and for your kids and your grandkids.

And, remember what the father of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams, said:

"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

“We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed.”

-- President Calvin Coolidge, Speech given in Philadelphia, PA, July 4, 1926, on the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence

The practice of human abortion violates every single clause of the stated purposes of the United States Constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land, and its explicit, imperative requirements. It is the worst sort of lawless rebellion against the laws of nature and of nature’s God.

The stated purposes of the Constitution of the United States, the Supreme Law of the Land:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The idea that it is the law of the land is the biggest, most destructive lie ever told in America.

The Supreme Law of the Land states as its first purpose the formation of a more perfect Union. The practice of human abortion destroys the most fundamental familial bonds that unite humanity, the natural ties between a mother and her child, destroys the unity of families and communities, and is well on its way to destroying the Union we call America.

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The Supreme Law of the Land states as its purpose the establishment of Justice. There can be no greater physical injustice committed towards any innocent person than to murder them.

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The Supreme Law of the Land states as its purpose the insuring of domestic Tranquility. The practice of human abortion is the cruelest violence that could possibly be committed against women, children, and their families. It has, in fact, filled our land with violence, burdening the national conscience with guilt for the shed blood of countless tens of millions of innocent little boys and girls.

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The Supreme Law of the Land states as its purpose the provision of the common Defense. That is, by definition, the defense of ALL persons in America. The practice of human abortion is the destruction of the child AND the destruction of Equality.

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The Supreme Law of the Land states as its purpose the promotion of the general Welfare. That is, by definition, the welfare, or well-being, of ALL persons in America. Again, the practice of human abortion is the destruction of the child AND the destruction of Equality.

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The Supreme Law of the Land states as its purpose the securing of the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. The practice of human abortion has already obliterated nearly an entire generation, depriving each individual victim of any possible chance to enjoy any of the Blessings of Liberty, and, by erasing entire bloodlines, it is obliterating Posterity itself.

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The Supreme Law of the Land, in the Fifth Amendment, explicitly and imperatively forbids the killing of any innocent person, the willful destruction of any person who has not been charged, tried, and convicted of a capital offense. Abortion is the grossest violation of Due Process imaginable.

"No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law." -- The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Abortion is NOT "the law of the land."

The Supreme Law of the Land, in the Fourteenth Amendment, explicitly and imperatively requires every State in the Union to equally protect the right to life of every innocent person, and requires that each and every person be provided with the Equal Protection of the laws by each State. The practice of human abortion is the grossest violation of Equal Protection imaginable.

"No State shall deprive any person of life without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." -- The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Even if abortion was "the law of the land," which it is not, any such lawless law or constitution would be NULL AND VOID anyway, grossly violating as it must the first Law of Nature, which is the absolute right and DUTY of the people, and of ALL governments, to protect innocent life, individual liberty, and private property.

"Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature." -- Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists, the Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting, November 20, 1772

"An unjust law is no law at all." – St. Augustine of Hippo

"Good and wise men, in all ages...have supposed, that the Deity, from the relations, we stand in, to Himself and to each other, has constituted an eternal and immutable law, which is, indispensably, obligatory upon all mankind, prior to any human institution whatever. This is what is called the law of nature, which, being coeval with mankind, and dictated by God himself, is, of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries at all times. No human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid, derive all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original." -- William Blackstone

"When human laws contradict or discountenance the means, which are necessary to preserve the essential rights of any society, they defeat the proper end of all laws, and so become null and void." -- Alexander Hamilton

Not only is the practice of human abortion NOT “the law of the land,” it COULD NOT BE the law of a land premised as this one is in a clear understanding and acknowledgment of the laws of nature and of nature’s God. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain UNALIENABLE rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men..." -- The Declaration of Independence

Every elected executive, every legislator, every judge, that allows the practice of human abortion to continue anywhere in America is in gross violation of their sacred oath of office. They have, as our constitutional republic’s founders charged against King George III in our nation’s charter, the Declaration of Independence, “abdicated government here by declaring us out of [their] protection and waging war against us.”

They must, by any and all lawful means, be removed and replaced by those who understand the foundations for law in America and the most fundamental and important obligations of their oaths.

That, by the mercy and grace of God, is the only hope we have to prevent the further destruction of America.

Abraham Lincoln, speech in Lewiston, Illinois, August 17, 1858, four days before his first historic debate with Stephen A. Douglas:"The Declaration of Independence was formed by the representatives of American liberty from thirteen States of the Confederacy, twelve of which were slaveholding communities. We need not discuss the way or the reason of their becoming slave-holding communities. It is sufficient for our purpose that all of them greatly deplored the evil and that they placed a provision in the Constitution which they supposed would gradually remove the disease by cutting off its source. This was the abolition of the slave trade. So general was the conviction, the public determination, to abolish the African slave trade, that the provision which I have referred to as being placed in the Constitution declared that it should not be abolished prior to the year 1808. A constitutional provision was necessary to prevent the people, through Congress, from putting a stop to the traffic immediately at the close of the war. Now if slavery had been a good thing, would the Fathers of the Republic have taken a step calculated to diminish its beneficent influences among themselves, and snatch the boon wholly from their posterity? These communities, by their representatives in old Independence Hall, said to the whole world of men: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' This was their majestic interpretation of the economy of the Universe. This was their lofty, and wise, and noble understanding of the justice of the Creator to his creatures. Yes, gentlemen, to all his creatures, to the whole great family of man. In their enlightened belief, nothing stamped with the Divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on and degraded, and imbruted by its fellows. They grasped not only the whole race of man then living, but they reached forward and seized upon the farthest posterity. They erected a beacon to guide their children, and their children's children, and the countless myriads who should inhabit the earth in other ages.Wise statesmen as they were, they knew the tendency of prosperity to breed tyrants, and so they established these great self-evident truths, that when in the distant future some man, some faction, some interest, should set up the doctrine that none but rich men, or none but white men, or none but Anglo-Saxon white men, were entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, their posterity might look up again to the Declaration of Independence and take courage to renew the battle which their fathers began, so that truth and justice and mercy and all the humane and Christian virtues might not be extinguished from the land; so that no man would hereafter dare to limit and circumscribe the great principles on which the temple of liberty was being built."Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines conflicting with the great landmarks of the Declaration of Independence; if you have listened to suggestions which would take away from its grandeur and mutilate the fair symmetry of its proportions; if you have been inclined to believe that all men are not created equal in those inalienable rights enumerated by our chart of liberty, let me entreat you to come back. Return to the fountain whose waters spring close by the blood of the Revolution. Think nothing of me — take no thought for the political fate of any man whomsoever — but come back to the truths that are in the Declaration of Independence. You may do anything with me you choose, if you will but heed these sacred principles. You may not only defeat me for the Senate, but you may take me and put me to death. While pretending no indifference to earthly honors, I do claim to be actuated in this contest by something higher than an anxiety for office. I charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought for any man's success. It is nothing; I am nothing; Judge Douglas is nothing. But do not destroy that immortal emblem of Humanity — the Declaration of American Independence." Printed in the Chicago Press and Tribune.

"This was the object of the Declaration of Independence. Not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said before; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take. Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion."

"We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honor, justice, and humanity forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them. Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Our internal resources are great… We gratefully acknowledge, as signal instances of the Divine favor towards us, that His Providence would not permit us to be called into this severe controversy until we were grown up to our present strength, had been previously exercised in warlike operation, and possessed of the means of defending ourselves. With hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare that, exerting the utmost energy of those powers which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we have been compelled by our enemies to assume we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance, employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live slaves."

— Declaration of Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms - July 6, 1775

GENTLEMEN: I do myself the honour to enclose, in obedience to the commands of Congress, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, which I am directed to request you will have proclaimed in your Colony in the way and manner which you shall judge best.

The American States being now forever divided from those who wished to destroy them, it has become absolutely necessary, for their security and happiness, to adopt some Government of their own. In this view of the matter, the important consequences flowing from a Declaration of Independence, considered as the ground and foundation thereof, will naturally suggest the propriety of proclaiming it in such a mode that the people may be universally informed of it.

I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient and very humble servant,

“Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines which conflict with the great landmarks of the Declaration of Independence…let me entreat you to come back. Return to the fountains whose waters spring close to the blood of the Revolution.”

'Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.'

Tom Hoefling on Government:

"Just as 'good fences make for good neighbors,' good government is mainly about knowing where the legitimate boundaries are, and having the courage to defend those borders forcefully. This is true in terms of the defense of our territory, our security, and our national sovereignty, but it also applies to the sworn duty of all of those in government to equally protect the God-given, unalienable rights of each individual person, from their creation onward, their sacred obligation to stay well within the enumerated powers of our constitutions, and of the role legitimate government must play in balancing the competing rights and interests of the people, in order to establish justice."